Suning and Gome sell the same air conditioners, washing machines and flat-screen televisions across China—often at the same prices. Both have 700-plus stores that span the country, and their revenues are nearly equal at around $5.8 billion for Gome and $5.5 billion for Suning. And both are battling for more of China's $100 billion electronics market. Gome has vowed to wage a "bloody battle" for acquisitions and was once said to be attempting a hostile takeover of its rival. Long the leader in China's fragmented market, Gome won a bidding war with Suning in December to acquire Dazhong, which controls half of Beijing's retail electronics market. Wong Kwong Yu, Gome's founder, got his start in Beijing, opening a few appliance stores in 1987 and consolidating under the current name, which means "kingdom of beautiful electronics," in 1993. Gome's strategy now: growth through acquisition. Merged with China Paradise in 2006 and bought an 11% stake in Sanlian Commercial in March. Also opened 102 stores in the first half of this year, some with an all-digital lineup. Revenue is up almost 29% in the first half—a number that may have been greater, Gome says, if not for China's recent earthquake and flooding. Suning got a later start, but it's closing in fast. Founder Zhang Jindong started an air-conditioning wholesale market in Nanjing in 1990 but ditched the wholesale approach after watching retailers rake in profits on his cooling units. In 1999 Zhang's dream was to open 1,500 outlets. Though still far from that number, Suning opened 175 stores last year. Sales surged 72% and profit doubled last year. His firm, with a market cap of $9.2 billion, is now worth more than Gome at $5.2 billion. Suning is listed in Shenzhen, where Chinese companies have always traded at a premium to those, such as Gome, which are listed in Hong Kong.

All figures are in U.S. dollars. Market value as of Aug. 8. 1 - Annualized 2 - Annualized; projected over next three to five years. 3 - Combined market value for BHP Billiton Ltd. and BHP Billiton Plc. (a dual-listed company with headquarters in Australia and the U.K.) Price to sales, estimated P/E and yield are only for BHP Billiton Ltd. 4 - Three-year figure. 5 - Combined market value for Rio Tinto Ltd. and Rio Tinto Plc. (a dual-listed company with headquarters in Australia and the U.K.). Price to sales, estimated P/E and yield are only for Rio Tinto Ltd.
NA - Not available Sources: FT Interactive Data, Thomson IBES and Worldscope via FactSet Research Systems; Bloomberg Financial Markets.